Mike Bloomberg Might Spend Even More Than $50 Million On His New Gun-Control Group

The $50 million that billionaire and former New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg said he would spend on his
newly launched gun-control group, Everytown for Gun
Safety, might be just the tip of the iceberg.

In a press call on Wednesday, Everytown for Gun Safety President
John Feinblatt told Business Insider that Bloomberg could put
even more of his money into the organization.

"The mayor has always said that he will spend what needs to be
spent to make Americans safer," Feinblatt said.

At its core, Everytown for Gun Safety will unite two
Bloomberg-backed gun-control groups: Mayors Against Illegal Guns
and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

Feinblatt, a longtime policy advisor to Bloomberg, said on
Wednesday that it was one year ago this week that a bipartisan
compromise that would have expanded background checks was
defeated in the Senate. Feinblatt said Everytown for Gun Safety
would keep pushing for federal legislation but would also focus
on other areas that he described as having been "fields of play
formerly occupied almost solely by the gun lobby."

"Everytown will continue to push for change in Washington, but
we'll also move beyond Congress and bring the fight for
common-sense gun policies to state capitals, to corporate boards,
and to state and federal elections," Feinblatt said.

While gun-control advocates have been unsuccessful in Congress,
Feinblatt argued that the movement has already made progress at
the state level.

"If you look at the past year, significant things have
happened in the states," he said. "We now have background-check
legislation in 16 states plus the District of Columbia, and we
have evidence that it works."

Feinblatt pointed out that Bloomberg isn't the group's only
deep-pocketed financial backer. He said Warren Buffett would be
on Everytown's advisory board and that the group will be "working
with" former Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack and Huffington Post
founder Kenneth Lerer.

Feinblatt said Everytown also has substantial grassroots support.

"I think it's important to note that, yeah, Michael
Bloomberg is a major donor, but we also have 34,000 other donors
across the country, all of whom are supporting our efforts,"
Feinblatt said. "As of today, I expect that 34,000 to increase
markedly."

While Washington won't necessarily be Everytown's main focus,
Feinblatt said Bloomberg would be making his presence felt in the
2014 elections.

"Mayor Bloomberg couldn't be clearer that he is going to
hold people accountable if they vote against gun safety and he's
going to reward those people who vote to keep Americans safer,"
he said.

Disclosure: Ken Lerer is an investor in Business Insider through Lerer Ventures.